2 Fan-Favorite HBO Stars Set as Winter Olympic Torchbearers

The Winter Olympics are heating up with a little help from Heated Rivalry stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie.

The stars of the hit Crave/HBO Max series have been selected as official torchbearers during the Olympic Torch Relay, which will conclude in Milan on Feb. 6 ahead of the opening ceremony.

HBO Max announced the news on Thursday that Williams and Storrie, who play closeted rival pro hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov in the steamy romance, would be carrying the Olympic torch, although the details as to when and where they will be doing so have yet to be disclosed. The torch was in Trieste on Thursday and scheduled to go through Udine on Friday.

“HBO Max today announced that Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, stars of the Crave Original series Heated Rivalry, have been selected to take part in the Olympic Torch Relay as official torchbearers for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026,” a statement from the network announced.

The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will be available for European HBO Max subscribers to stream for the first time as part of the platform’s expansion. In the U.S., Peacock and NBC maintain the broadcast and streaming rights to the Olympic Games.

Heated Rivalry has become an international sensation since the show, based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changers book series, was released in November. The show was officially renewed for a second season in December, and a third book based on Shane and Ilya’s romance, titled Unrivaled, is set to be released in September.

Williams and Storrie have become overnight household names for their Heated Rivalry roles, which is something Williams said “doesn’t feel like anything you could prepare for” during a recent appearance on the Shut Up Evan podcast.

Williams, who worked as a server in Canada before landing his breakout role, said he’s now looking to find “a sort of semblance of privacy” as he adapts to the “weird balance” of his newfound fame.

“It’s hard to complain about because for a long time I’ve been a cliché of an actor, you know, struggling server, paycheck to paycheck, just desperate for any role, let alone a good one,” he said. “I was just talking with one of my agents yesterday, and she said Connor and I have had to learn what a lot of actors get in 5 years in like 30 days.”